M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy

M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, is the closest large galaxy to our own Milkyway galaxy. At a distance of approximately 2.2 million light years and at a size of nearly 65,000 light years across, this galaxy is easily seen as a naked eye object in the night sky and appears as a faint fuzzy patch in the constellation, Andromeda. The two smaller fuzzy objects in the image above are the satellite galaxies, M32 and M110.

Image Specifications:

     •  Instrument:  Takahashi FS-102 Refractor (820mm - f/8) with 0.8x Televue Reducer
     •  Camera:  Canon 20Da
     •  Filters:  Hutech IDAS LPS (Light Pollution)
     •  Mount:  Losmandy GM-8 Equatorial
     •  Guiding:  SBIG STV Autoguider with Vixen 400mm Guidescope
     •  Time / Date :  October 21, 2006, 9:00PM EDT
     •  Location:  Coyle Field, NJ
     •  Weather:  Clear, 50degF
     •  Primary Exposure :  10 x 5min, ISO 1600, RAW, average combined
     •  Calibration Frames:  5 x 5min, ISO 1600, RAW, dark frames
     •  Image Processing :  Images Plus, Photoshop CS2